The Excitement of Moving!

We are starting to move in!

We are very excited about the Santa Monica Public Library's new main library. Especially the new Youth Services area, which includes:

• a larger story room/program area
• more computers for youth and teens
• more study desks and tables
• a garden area
• a larger reference area
• tutoring rooms and study rooms exclusively for the use of kids and teens
• a teen area with a lounge/reading area
• an expanded Parenting Collection with space for reading and study
• more restrooms, including one sized for smaller children
• more shelf space and an expanded collection of books and other materials.

The library is currently scheduled to open in January of 2006. Please note that it takes time to move all of the materials into the new library, not to mention organizing it all and making other preparations. During our move, scheduled for the fall of 2005, there may be some unavoidable interruptions to our service at the Temporary Main Library and the Youth Services office and materials in the basement of the Ocean Park Branch. During that transitional time all of the branch libraries will be open. To ensure the best service possible, if you have any questions we ask you to please call before you go, 310-458-8621.

For more information about the new main library, visit the Santa Monica Public Library's Construction Update page.

To see a complete listing of library locations and contact information, please see our Contact Us page.

Sneak Preview: Inside and outside the new main library

The Children's Garden from 7th Street. What do the colors on the garden walls remind you of? (hint...)	The shelves are attached to the floor. What do the circles on the carpet look like? What is the theme of the new library? (hint...)
The carpet in front of the new Study Rooms for kids and teens. The designers of the new main library used a palette, or specific set of colors, that ties into the theme of the new library. What do the colors in the carpeting remind you of? (hint...)	The new Parenting Center. This space will have comfortable couches and chairs for reading together, as well as books, videos, DVDs and other materials to assist parents.
The entrance to the Children's section of the new library.	The entrance to the new Teen Lounge.
Looking towards the Youth Services Program Room and Children's Garden from the Youth Services Reference Desk.	The Children's and Young Adult Non-fiction Section.
Have you ever moved? Was it a lot of work? Imagine moving fifty houses all at once! That is what it is like to move everything back into the new library. Fortunately we have lots of help. We are starting to fill the shelves with wonderful new books and old favorites.

Lifecycle of Art: Underwater Canopy by Carl Cheng

The courtyard of the new main library has a unique sculpture. To see this sculpture you must look up, up, up over your head. This sculpture is a canopy in the library's courtyard. The canopy helps keep the people sitting in the courtyard out of the sun, but it also gives them something interesting to watch. To watch? How can you watch a sculpture that does not move? (hint...)

These objects inspired Mr. Cheng as he began designing the canopy. Which items are found in nature? Which items are made by people?
This is how the artist imagined the canopy would look if you were standing near the Youth Services area in the new main library.
These photographs were taken on the day the largest pieces of the sculpture were installed.
This is what the canopy looked like in August, as workers planted trees and bushes in the courtyard. The stained glass has been inserted into the frame of the canopy.
	These five photographs show what the canopy looked like in September. What patterns do you see in the shadows? Do you see the same patterns anywhere else? Notice the circle of stained glass in the photograph below. What shapes are in the glass? Come and visit this amazing sculpture when the library opens in January 2006!
These two photos were taken right before the books from storage started arriving on October 17! What sea creatures can you identify?

Other Objects in the Library

These two photographs show two kinds of overhead lights used in the new library.
There are other interesting things to see at the new library. If you look up while walking into the library or on your way to the Children's area you will see some interesting lights. What do these lights remind you of? (hint...)

Hints

The Children's Garden from 7th Street.

Bite into an apple. What color is the outside of the apple? What color is the inside of the apple? Does the Children's Garden look like a giant took a bite out of the building? The colors used by the architects were inspired by biting into a piece of fruit! Try using some of the colors you see in ordinary objects in your next work of art. (return...)

The shelves are attached to the floor.

Dive into the ocean, or maybe a swimming pool. What shape are bubbles? How many colors can you find in a bubble? The circles in the carpet remind us of bubbles under the water. What other colors, shapes and textures in the photograph remind you of water? (return...)

The carpet in front of the new Study Rooms for kids and teens.

What colors do you see in the carpet in the photograph? Green? Blue? Tan? Green and blue are cool colors and tan is a warm color. Where else in Santa Monica do you see shades of green, blue and tan? What about the circles that remind us of bubbles?

Santa Monica is known as a coastal city; we are famous for our beaches. The architects of the new building decided to use the beach and ocean as the theme for the new main library. When you visit the new main library, take a look around. It may remind you of being underwater. (return...)

Lifecycle of Art: Shade canopy by Carl Cheng

As the sun moves across the sky, the shadows and colors under the canopy will change. It will look very different in the morning then in the evening or even in the middle of the day. When you visit the library try this: When you start your visit, go to the courtyard and look at where the shadow of the canopy is on the ground. Before you leave, check the shadow again. Has it moved? Do the colors in the stained glass look any different? (return...)

Other Objects in the Library

The lights hanging over your head as you walk through the library may remind you of sea shells. If you hold certain shells up to the light you can see some of the light shining through. The lights are also shaped like different shells. (return...)